Foreign Applicants

I was on tree-planter.com today because I’m updating our working holiday program’s Guidebook to Canada for incoming foreign workers, some of whom choose to work as tree planters. I noticed the note requesting information for foreign applicants who want to plant trees in Canada. I thought I’d drop you a note to give you some info.

There are two basic types of work permits that foreign workers in Canada can get. The first is an employer-sponsored work permit. To get one of these, the employer has to apply to HRSDC for a Labour Market Opinion. This is a study of the desired occupation, to determine whether or not workers are in this particular industry are in high enough demand to justify hiring a foreign worker. This process generally takes 6 – 8 months. The work permit the person receives will be up to 2 years in length, and will be restricted to one employer. More info about this can be found at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/index.asp

The second way is to get a working holiday permit. These work permits are generally for youth (ages 18 – 35) or students, depending on the country the person comes from. Our program, SWAP Working Holidays, is Canada’s largest and longest-running working holiday program. We partner with 25 different countries from around the world, to receive 6000 – 7000 international youth annually. For many of the countries we work with, our program provides the only opportunity for youth from that country to work and travel in Canada. We also send about 2000 Canadians abroad to work and travel every year.

Our participants are all issued open, unrestricted work permits – they can work in any location in Canada, for any employer. Many come for seasonal employment, and work in tree planting or fruit picking. The lengths of their work permits vary from 6 months to 2 years, depending on where they are from. Our program also provides a fast-tracked SIN processing service, job and accommodation searching assistance, help with starting bank accounts and phones, emergency assistance, social events, and much more.

The price of the program and the length of processing vary depending on the country the person is from. From the US, for example, the program fee (including the cost of the work permit) is $250 and the processing time is 1 – 2 weeks.